Homeward Bound
by usernamealwaystaken
Summary: Pearl has lived her entire life in White Diamond's castle. She meets Amethyst, a cecaelia, and they get completely lost together. While trying to find their way back home, they gain new friends, new enemies, and a new way to see each other. Inspired by pearlmethystofficial on Tumblr.


"I am not going to be here for the next few hours, Pearl. That will give you ample time to clean up around here."

It always seemed as though White Diamond had some sort of duty to carry out away from her chambers. Meetings and speeches take up a lot of her time, which is both a blessing and a curse. The frustration of being out and about on a wide range of different planets or even star systems for such a long time is usually taken out on her staff. On the other hand, her time out allows for a chance to do something more interesting than just standing around and looking pretty.

Sure, she had the opportunity to clean now, don't think for a second that she doesn't enjoy that. The satisfaction of a clean living space and a content master is the best feeling any pearl should strive for. Still, Pearl wishes that she could do so much more than adhere to whatever mundane standards her kind are held to. In her down time, she often switches from the sweep of a brush to the strike of a sword. Humans are careless creatures and often leave their possessions to be swept up by the sea. Pearl's growing sword collection is a testament to their inattention to their own belongings.

Pearl swam into her humble chamber, which she had to share with the other pearls, desperate to not attract attention from the rest of the staff. It was small and gray, with a single window overlooking a portion of the empire. She wasn't allowed anything of her own. Instead she was to keep whatever shells or scales her Diamond wanted to dress her with when she had to accompany her outside. They were rather drab, pure white and sharp. A perfect representation of her Diamond inside and out.

However, hidden under a thick layer of sand in her own little corner was a wide array of sword and daggers she had collected over the years. Each one was crafted with a specific purpose in mind and with different techniques to employ. Pearl shifted a few of them around to reach towards her favorite. Not a sword or a dagger, but a spear with a pearlescent, spiraling blade.

Pearl lost herself in the dance. Though it was a weapon was fashioned for human hands, her own webbed hands had grown out of their clumsy swings and stabs, allowing her to add some flare to her routine. A few concentrated bursts of speed would make her unpredictable to her imaginary foes. She swung the sword with elegance and power, parrying the strikes of an invisible opponent.

"PEARL!"

Pearl jumped mid-swing and let go of the blade. It flipped out of the window and landed somewhere out of sight below. Pearl looked outside, trying to spot it, but her attention was brought back to the angry knocking at the door. She swept the sand over her sword stash with her tail and answered it. A disgruntled Howlite was there to greet her.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing in here?"

Pearl glanced quickly at the haphazardly swept sand, then back to Howlite. Before she could even get a word out, the other gem yelled out.

"White Diamond told you to clean her chambers. You haven't got the time to be messing around here, so get to it!"

Pearl watched her swim down the corridor, swishing her tail way harder than she needed to. She couldn't bring herself to be mad at Howlite. Being a lower class gem herself, she was likely worried about the consequences they would face if everything wasn't to White Diamond's liking. Worry welled up in Pearl as well but… retrieving her spear wouldn't take long at all, she was sure.

Pearl sneaked out and down the side of the castle, hoping to avoid detection. Her bright blue eyes searched the ground beneath her. When the spear was not easily spotted, she began to panic. Webbed hands pushed aside mounds of sand to no avail. Her gills ached as her breathing grew heavier. She pried her eyes away from the ground to search the surrounding area. Maybe it got snagged on a coral branch or something.

"Hey! What are you doing outside?" she was spotted by two soldiers on patrol. Her first instinct was to flee, though she knew it would land her into more trouble. She happened upon a small opening to what looked like an underwater cave. She easily fit through, but the guards were held back by their girth. Pearl looked on, frozen as the guards spat taunts at her before moving out of sight.

After a few moments of staring at the cave entrance, she took in her surroundings. Or, at least, she tried to. It was pitch black, and cold. She put a hand out to find her bearings and was met with a bumpy surface. What she thought was the cave wall was actually a pile of… stuff. She felt around the surface of the pile and picked something out of it. It was rounded with a spring and a base at the bottom. The wood was worn and fat from being underwater for too long. The ball, or whatever it was supposed to be, appeared like a toy for children. Another item she pulled out appeared to be a rusty spoon. Well, whatever this place was, it's a bunch of junk now. Is this where the other pearls dispose of the trash? How disgusting.

Pearl tried to advance without touching anything gross, a near impossible feat when she needed to hold the walls in order to find her way. Her hand suddenly found a familiar texture. She trailed her hand upward to find the beginnings of a spiral blade. Her spear! She grabbed the handle with newfound gusto as a small smile played on her lips. That's one problem solved. Now she could go back to her Diamond's chambers and pretend this never happened, provided the guards keep their mouths shut.

Pearl began to move back towards the cave entrance, spear in tow, to see if the guards were still hanging around. However, she was met with resistance. Her spear refused to budge. It was probably stuck in the trash heap. When she tried to place both hands on the handle, she found herself touching something warm and definitely alive. She quickly unhanded the appendage as her face scrunched up in horror and mild disgust.

"Hey, do you mind? Trying to sleep here." The creature groaned. They appeared to have no intention of letting go. Unfortunately, their grip was quite strong for someone who claimed to have been asleep.

"Hold on, wait a second." The sound of rustling filled the cave and a light was switched on. The relative brightness caused Pearl to flinch and release the spear to rub her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted, she was finally able to look around her.

Indeed, she was surrounded by garbage, but what was more interesting was the creature before her. She had long hair, stereotypical of mermaids, full lips and an even fuller body. From the waist down, she had eight inky black tentacles, holding protectively onto her pile of garbage.

"Sup. Name's Amethyst."


End file.
